Forestry Facts & Figures 2017

Forest cover: international comparisons 2015

| Country | Forest area (million ha) | Total woodland (million ha) | Forest as % of land area | |------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------| | Europe | 1,015 | 2,214 | 46 | | UK | 624 | 2,987 | 21 | | Northern Ireland | 174 | 850 | 40 | | Scotland | 842 | 1,747 | 46 | | World | 3,999 | 10,049 | 31 |

Softwood deliveries (thousands of green tonnes)

| Year | Softwood | Hardwood | Total | |------|----------|----------|-------| | 2012 | 412 | 307 | 719 | | 2013 | 410 | 303 | 713 | | 2014 | 409 | 302 | 711 | | 2015 | 410 | 303 | 713 |

Hardwood deliveries (thousands of green tonnes)

| Year | Softwood | Hardwood | Total | |------|----------|----------|-------| | 2012 | 307 | 282 | 589 | | 2013 | 303 | 280 | 583 | | 2014 | 302 | 279 | 581 | | 2015 | 303 | 280 | 583 |

Wood products: international comparisons 2015

| Region | Woodfuel (million tonnes) | Wood-based (million tonnes) | Total (million tonnes) | |-----------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------|------------------------| | EU-28 | 260 | 1,040 | 1,300 | | Total Europe | 260 | 1,040 | 1,300 | | Asia | 260 | 1,040 | 1,300 | | Total Asia | 260 | 1,040 | 1,300 | | World | 260 | 1,040 | 1,300 |

Import and export volumes

| Year | Imports | Exports | |------|---------|---------| | 2012 | 1,579 | 1,579 | | 2013 | 1,588 | 1,588 | | 2014 | 1,642 | 1,642 | | 2015 | 1,632 | 1,632 |

Employment in forestry and primary wood processing (thousands)

| Year | Forestry | Sawmills | Pulp & paper | Total | |------|----------|----------|--------------|-------| | 2011 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 26 | | 2012 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 26 | | 2013 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 26 | | 2014 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 26 | | 2015 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 26 |

Wood production (thousands of green tonnes)

| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | |------|---------|-------|----------|-----------------|-------| | 2013 | 209 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2014 | 208 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2015 | 207 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 |

New planting (thousands of hectares)

| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | |------|---------|-------|----------|-----------------|-------| | 2013 | 209 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2014 | 208 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2015 | 207 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 |

Restocking (thousands of hectares)

| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | |------|---------|-------|----------|-----------------|-------| | 2013 | 209 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2014 | 208 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 | | 2015 | 207 | 107 | 84 | 31 | 331 |

Source: FAO. Cyprus is included in EU-28 total but is part of FAO's Asia region. These figures are outside the scope of National Statistics. Woodland cover in the UK is now around 3 million hectares, equivalent to 13% of the total land area. The public forest estate makes up almost 30% of total forest area. This map shows the distribution of woodland over 2 hectares in the UK.

The information on woodland area presented here uses data from the GB National Forest Inventory, adjusted for new planting, and data supplied by Forest Service in Northern Ireland.

Find out more about the National Forest Inventory at: www.forestry.gov.uk/inventory